December11, 2007

Washington, DC – House Armed Services Committee
Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO) and Congressman Steve Buyer
(R-IN) have asked the U.S. Navy to name the next United
States warship in honor of the Marquis de
Lafayette.

In a letter to the Secretary of the Navy, Donald
Winter, Skelton and Buyer wrote:

“As you know, Marie Joseph Paul
Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier, commonly known as the Marquis de
Lafayette, was an instrumental figure in our nation’s
war for independence… This year marks the
250th anniversary of the birth of this great man.
Lafayette was a favorite of General Washington and was much
loved by the people of the early United States. In
fact, General Lafayette returned to the United States in 1824
and toured the country that he helped found, a country that
had by that time grown to 24 states. It was during this
triumphal tour of the nation that many cities, towns, and
counties were either named or renamed in honor of the
Marquis. Both Lafayette County, Missouri, and
Lafayette, Indiana owe their names to this original American
hero.”

“We feel it is extremely
important to the history and traditions of the Navy that our
ships continue to pay tribute to the heroes who have gone
before and sacrificed so much to establish our nation.
We strongly encourage that you name one of our next
destroyers or submarines in honor of General
Lafayette.”

Three previous Navy vessels have
honored Lafayette: an iron clad side-wheeled steamer
during the Civil War; a converted French cruise liner used as
a troopship during World War II; and a ballistic missile
submarine, the lead ship of the Lafayette class, which was
decommissioned in 1991 after almost thirty years of service
during the Cold War.

We write to urge you to name the next
United States warship the USS Lafayette. As you know,
Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier, commonly known
as the Marquis de Lafayette, was an instrumental figure in
our nation’s war for independence. In 1777, the
then 20-year-old Marquis made passage to the colonies to
assist in the fight for freedom. The Continental
Congress commissioned him a Major General in the Continental
Army and he served with distinction in various commands
through to the final siege of British forces under Lord
Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. It was
Lafayette’s personal influence with the King of France
which garnered the much needed support of the Naval forces of
General Rochambeau, forces which tipped the balance of power
and allowed for the ultimate victory of General
Washington’s Continental Army.

This year marks the 250th anniversary
of the birth of this great man. Lafayette was a
favorite of General Washington and was much loved by the
people of the early United States. In fact, General
Lafayette returned to the United States in 1824 and toured
the country that he helped found, a country that had by that
time grown to 24 states. It was during this triumphal
tour of the nation that many cities, towns, and counties were
either named or renamed in honor of the Marquis. Both
Lafayette County, Missouri and Lafayette, Indiana owe their
names to this original American hero.

Mr. Secretary, there have been three
Navy vessels named in honor of Lafayette: the first was
an iron clad side-wheeled steamer which saw action with the
Western Flotilla in the Battle of Vicksburg during the Civil
War; the second was the converted SS Normandie, a French
cruise liner used as a troopship in World War II; and the
third and perhaps most celebrated was the fleet ballistic
missile submarine USS Lafayette SSBN 616, the lead ship of
the Lafayette class, which served from 1963 to 1991,
completing 76 strategic deterrent patrols during the Cold
War.

We feel that it is extremely important to the
history and traditions of the Navy that our ships continue to
pay tribute to the heroes who have gone before and sacrificed
so much to establish our nation. We strongly encourage
that you name one of our next destroyers or submarines in
honor of General Lafayette.